Smelling the Honeysuckle is Great Exercise

After I was diagnosed with type 2, I became reacquainted
with one great truth and one great joy. Both centered on walking.

My diagnosing doctor had wagged his finger at me and said,
“Get moving,” and for me the easiest way to do that was to start walking.
Walking was a simple act I had loved as a younger man but had let slip out of
my quiver of good habits over the years.

The truth that returned to me was something I’d read, and
later knew, as a boy. It was that humans are built to take in the world at
around 5 miles per hour. At that speed, all the senses can join in concert.
While I’m looking at spring buds on a honeysuckle bush, I’m also smelling their
luscious fragrance, as well as listening to a nearby songbird who’s letting all
the songbird honeys in the neighborhood know he’s available. In the summer
where I live there are wild berry bushes to snack on.

You can’t do all that at 60 miles per hour. Or even 25.
We’re smart enough to make things that can move us that fast, but we’re not set
up to indulge any sense except sight at high speed.

The joy came from realizing that even a casual walk invites
unexpected encounters and delights, from running into friends and acquaintances
to exploring a new neighborhood to dropping in on some new business to watching
kids clambering monkey-like at the local playground.

I’m not talking about walking as a one-size-fits-all
exercise solution. Some of us are yoga or pilates aficionados, and those are
fine ways to get a type 2 body going. Others of us love to swim, or lift weights, or bike. This is for those of us who need to get up and out doing a
no-cost, no training-necessary, no-equipment-needed exercise.

The only caution I’d give is to start slowly. Muscles long
unused to brisk walking will squawk right away if you try to treat them like
heavy duty engines that you can just fire up and push at will. Give them some
time to adjust. That means easy ambles around the block at first.

The time for brisk power walking, with quick steps and
emphatic arm swings, comes later. Think of yourself as a new teen driver who
theoretically is qualified to drive anywhere at will, but needs to get some
surface street experience under her belt before taking on a freeway.

How long does that take? For me it was one week of a 10-minute
stroll around the block on a daily basis. Starting the next week, I added a
second stroll around the block later in the day. Emphasis on stroll. My aim was to go fairly easy,
just trying to establish a walking habit before worrying about shifting into
second gear.

After two weeks, putting on a bit of speed on the first walk
of the day will tell you how ready you are. Once you’re used to walking faster,
increase the distance. Within a month of my diagnosis I was walking at least 3
miles per day in around 45 minutes.

Useful aids:

A hat to protect your skin if your diabetes
drugs make you sensitive to sunlight.

A small water bottle.

A pedometer to give you a rough measure of your
steps (you can get a serviceable pedometer at a sporting goods store for $25 or
$30). The rough rule of thumb is 2,500 steps per mile—your number may vary.

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